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All the United States Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Dippy the Dinosaur

Dippy the Dinosaur

A model of a dinosaur that was named for Andrew Carnegie stands outside the museum that also bears his name.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Added By
brickhound
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Dippy the Dinosaur   Wally Gobetz on flickr
Dippy the Dinosaur   Wally Gobetz on flickr
Diplodocus carnegii during assemply in Paris   Bain Collection
Head of the real thing (diplodocus carnegii, during assemply in Paris)   Bain Collection
Snow-covered Dippy   Elyse on Flickr
Dippy The Dinosaur   blimpcaptain / Atlas Obscura User
  chasepopt / Atlas Obscura User
Dippy and the Cathedral of Learning   dcooper
Dippy   dcooper
  joedissolvo / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Outside of the Carnegie Institute and Library in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh is a dinosaur with a Twitter feed.  @dippy_the_dino has a lot to say, having been around (more or less) for 150 million years.

Affectionately known as “Dippy the Dinosaur” (that’s Diplodocus carnegii to you, sir!), Dippy is a life-size statue of the museum’s first dinosaur find. Having been discovered in 1899 by a team of scientists, and assembled by the benefactor of the Institute, Andrew Carnegie, the statue of Dippy was erected in front of the Museum in 1999 to celebrate his 100th anniversary as the patron dinosaur of Pittsburgh.   

The diplodocus was a vegetarian dino who stripped vegetation clean off of branches, and maybe even dunked under water to grab aquatic plants. Their unusual array of teeth, coupled with their tiny heads, show that they didn’t require the strength of mighty jaws to chew. They preferred their salads whole, and swallowed it all with hardly a chomp.

This particular diplodocus may be fiberglass by birth, but the real thing had the strength of a suspension bridge in those vertebrae – from their long necks to the end of their powerful tails. But Dippy the Dinosaur has something on his prehistoric inspirations - he's not going to be extinct any time soon.

Related Tags

Dinosaurs Museums Natural History Museums Industrial Railroads Animals

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Added By

brickhound

Edited By

srp1lw, Molly McBride Jacobson, dcooper, joedissolvo...

  • srp1lw
  • Molly McBride Jacobson
  • dcooper
  • joedissolvo
  • chasepopt
  • blimpcaptain

Published

November 5, 2015

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Sources
  • http://www.carnegiemnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/dinosaurs/
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnegie_Museum_of_Natural_History
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplodocus
  • http://news.discovery.com/animals/dinosaurs/vegetarian-dinosaurs-120718.htm
Dippy the Dinosaur
4400 Forbes Avenue
Oakland
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15213
United States
40.443449, -79.949926
Visit Website
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Nearby Places

Cathedral of Learning

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

miles away

Mellon Institute Columns

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

miles away

Forbes Field Wall

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

miles away

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Photo of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh

Pennsylvania

Places 61
Stories 5

Nearby Places

Cathedral of Learning

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

miles away

Mellon Institute Columns

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

miles away

Forbes Field Wall

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh

Pennsylvania

Places 61
Stories 5

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